After the Call: Motorola Still Looks Weak

Motorola (MOT Quote) needn't worry. Its spot in Wall Street's doghouse is safe.

The cell phone and semiconductor company Wednesday morning followed up its report of wider-than-expected first-quarter losses from Tuesday evening with a rather uninspired 2001 outlook. It expects that sales will come in "somewhat" lower for the year, producing "modest" earnings.

The company's cell phone business is hurting because of a weak market and strategic missteps that left it with a bunch of phones that nobody wanted. That's meant hefty inventories and declining market share. In addition, its semiconductor division -- which makes chips for cell phones, among other markets -- has been caught in one of the sharpest downturns ever for chips. Then there are the balance sheet issues that have dogged the company in recent weeks, and investors are wondering whether the company is facing a cash crunch. Motorola firmly denies this. ...